NHRC’s recommendations on HIV/AIDS

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has finalised its recommendations on a range of issues relating to HIV/AIDS and human rights. These include : consent and testing, confidentiality, discrimination in health care, discrimination in employment, women in vulnerable environments, children and young people, people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and marginalized populations. These recommendations are based on the report of the National Consultation on HIV/AIDS which was organised by the Commission in partnership with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Lawyers Collective, UN Children’s Fund and the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS in New Delhi on 24 – 25 November, 2000. The recommendations of the NHRC have been sent to the concerned Governmental agencies for the initiation of appropriate action. The detailed recommendations are available on the Commission’s web site www.nhrc.nic.in. In a foreword to these recommendations, the Chairperson of NHRC stated :

“HIV/AIDS is not merely a medical problem: the manner in which the virus is impacting upon society reveals the intricate way in which social, economic, cultural, political and legal factors act together to make certain sections of society more vulnerable. The epidemic exposes the method and the impact of marginalisation and inequality in clear terms.

Marginalised groups in our society have little or no access to basic fundamental and human rights such as food, medical services and information. Many of these groups are ostracized by society at large, making it practically impossible for them to participate in mainstream processes whereby they could demand their rights. Coupled with this dismal situation, there is minimal awareness about HIV and no real options for safer lifestyles. It is time to recognise this link between marginalisation, human rights and vulnerability.

It is also time to recognise that the HIV/AIDS epidemic itself has given rise to denial of human rights to a large number of people. The refusal of treatment, denial of access to essential drugs including antiretroviral therapy, discrimination in the health care and employment sectors, women being deprived of their rights and thrown out of their homes etc are just some examples of these violations. Apart from having a serious impact on the lives of people living with HIV, denial of these rights is pushing the epidemic underground. Unless these human rights violations are addressed, there cannot be the creation of an enabling environment, where people come forward to access health and other services, or even get tested.

There is also a need to understand the exact manner in which factors of gender, caste, region, class, sexual orientation influence the impact of these human rights issues on different sections of society.

HIV can today be made a manageable condition, with the use of antiretroviral treatment along with other mechanisms. These treatments are, however, almost absolutely unaffordable to most people who need them. It is a shocking proposition that the right to live a healthy life should depend on the ability of a person to pay for treatment. This proposition is, sadly, a truth at present. The State is under an obligation to ensure that treatment is available, accessible and affordable to all people who need it. Laws that impact on the cost of treatment, such as drug price control laws and patent laws need to be moulded to fulfill this obligation. This is as much a human rights issue as any other.

In order to bring all these realities to the fore, to understand them and to address them effectively, there must be the development of an enabling legal environment which respects and protects the fundamental and human rights of those worst affected. It is keeping this in mind, that the NHRC decided to take up the exercise of starting dialogue with the human rights community on a wide range of issues that link the HIV/AIDS epidemic to human rights. The National Conference was the first step in this regard. Representatives from the Human Rights machinery, police personnel, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), AIDS Control Societies and people living with HIV/AIDS from all over the country, came together for the first time to discuss these issues at length”.